X-Men

One of the most requested Artist’s Edition-style books is finally on its way – John Byrne’s X-Men Artifact Edition. John Byrne, thought by many to be the quintessential X-Men artist, began his legendary run on the title with issue #108 in 1977. Already a major hit in the Marvel Universe, Byrne, along with his co-creators Chris Claremont and Terry Austin, brought the X-Men to the highest levels of popularity. To this day their run on the X-Men is one of the most fondly remembered series’ ever published by Marvel Comics.

“Even after all these years, it’s the X-Men work I did with Chris and Terry that still resonates the most with fans.” said Byrne, “Hopefully when you all see the pages in this format you’ll still feel the same way!”

Now IDW Publishing is proud to present John Byrne’s X-Men Artifact Edition, a gorgeous 12” x 17” Artist’s Edition style book featuring more than 100 pages of Byrne’s X-Men work, each and every one scanned from the rare and valuable original art. The only way you could have a better look at these originals would be if you were sitting next to Byrne as he was drawing them!

“It doesn’t get much bigger and better than John Byrne’s X-Men.” said award-winning Artist’s Edition Editor Scott Dunbier, “This truly will be an event, one absolutely not to be missed!”

IDW’s Artist’s Editions have been praised for their beauty and meticulous attention to detail, they have won five prestigious Eisner Awards to date. John Byrne’s X-Men Artifact Edition will arrive in July.

Funko today announced a slew of classic X-Men Pop!s, Dorbz and Mystery Minis. The Pop!s on the way include Cable, Archangel, Quicksilver, Psylocke, Sabretooth and Storm (with her epic mohawk). A Pocket Pop! of the Master of Magnetism, Magneto is also on the way. These are coming your way this November.

On the Dorbz front Cable, Cyclops (his Dad), Emma Frost (including a Diamond variant), Dark Phoenix, Storm, Psylocke and Sabretooth are on the way. These will be in stores this November.

A series of Mystery Minis is also on the way and includes Professor X, Magneto, Cyclops, Wolverines and many of your other favorite X-Men in one of your favorite blind-boxed formats. This series of Mystery Minis will also be available in November.

Finally a Dorbz Ridez of the Beast with the Blackbird is a Walmart exclusive and is due in December.

Kotobukiya is continuing their X-Men line of ArtFX+ statues with the February release of Magik. She’s joining the previously announced Cyclops, Emma Frost and Magneto statues.

The statue, sculpted by Junosuke Abe, has her posed posed dynamically with her feet spread apart, her hands laid on top of the pommel of her Soulsword stuck into the ground before her. Her costume is straight out “All New X-Men” with thigh high leather boots, short shorts, a halter top with armored shoulders, armbands, and gloves reflects her look in the book. This statue stands 7.5″ tall and includes a magnetic display base.

Magik will be available in February 2016, other upcoming X-Men include Beast, Rogue and Wolverine. Check out Magik below along with an amazing pic of the entire group.

This week Diamond Select Toys has a ton of cool new products, but it’ll be tough to top the latest series of Marvel Minimates – the X-Men’s Strike Force team. A classic line-up of your favorite mutants, these two packs are a little extra special as each includes extra parts for an alternate figure. Fantastic figures from back in the day when I was a dedicated reader. I’ll need to go find that Jubilee / Destiny pack! Keep reading for all the details on the rest of the cool new stuff from DST!

A Diamond Select Toys Release! It’s almost 2015, which means we’re only months away from inventing Mr. Fusion, the device that turns garbage into energy! Arguably the biggest technological leap between the 1985 we saw in Back to the Future and the 2015 we saw in Back to the Future II, the Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor is now a realistically scaled 18″ electronic replica from Diamond Select Toys, complete with a sound effect to let you know that the sealed processing unit has been opened and is ready to process household waste into 1.21 gigawatts of energy! Runs on included batteries.

Batman Classic TV Series Penguin Resin Bust – SRP: $59.99
A Diamond Select Toys release! Batman’s rogues gallery continues to grow as the Penguin joins the Riddler and the Joker in DST’s line of busts based on the Batman Classic TV Series! This 6-inch-tall resin bust captures Burgess Meredith as fowl fiend, wielding a deadly umbrella and an equally deadly sneer. Bust sits atop a colorful base inspired by the show’s animated opening credits, and comes packaged in a full-color box. Designed by Barry Bradfield! Sculpted by Jean St. Jean!Dragon Age Minimates Series 1 Box Set – $19.99
A Diamond Select Toys release! On your next Dragon Age quest, why not keep your companions in your pocket? The legendary video game series kicks off an epic line of Minimates with this debut four-pack featuring the Grey Warden Alistair; the bard, Leliana; dwarf rogue Varric Tethras (with Bianca); and Morrigan, Witch of the Wilds. Each 2-inch Minimate mini-figure features 10-14 points of articulation and interchangeable parts. Packaged on a blister card.

Godzilla 2000 Sculpted Pizza Cutter – SRP: $14.99

A Diamond Select Toys release! Destroy all toppings! A monstrous hunger requires a monstrous slice, and you can cut yourself off a big one with this palm-sized pizza cutter featuring the sculpted face of Godzilla, King of the Monsters. Based on his appearance in “Godzilla 2000,” this menacing utensil will cut a path through a deep-dish pie like Godilla cuts a path through Tokyo! Packaged in a full-color box.

Marvel Minimates Avengers Age of Ultron Movie Single Pack Display – SRP: $5.99/ea.
A Diamond Select Toys release! For a movie as big as “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” one assortment is not enough! This colorful countertop display holds 18 individually blind-bagged Minimates based on the movie, including multiple types of Ultrons, Iron Man’s Iron Legion, plus one-per-case Minimates of Baron Strucker and Nick Fury! Every bag contains one 2-inch Minimate mini-figure, featuring 14 points of articulation and interchangeable parts.

Marvel Minimates Series 60 X-Men Vs. Brotherhood Asst. – SRP: $9.99/two-pack
A Diamond Select Release! Some of the X-Men’s most memorable costumes and memorable foes return in this all-new assortment of Marvel Minimates! Exclusively available through Previews, this assortment has the X-Men’s Strike Force team (as seen in Uncanny X-Men #275) take on that era’s Brotherhood of Mutants, a.k.a. Freedom Force! Plus each two pack of 2-inch Minimates includes bonus parts to create an alternate X-Men character! The two-packs include Wolverine (with Forge parts) vs. Blob, Banshee (with Gambit parts) vs. Pyro, Storm (with Psylocke parts) vs. Avalanche, and a short-packed, one-per-case two-pack of Jubilee vs. Destiny! Each two-pack is packaged in a full-color window box. Designed by Art Asylum!

View Askew Buddy Christ Plush Doll – SRP: $19.99
A Diamond Select Toys release! From the films of Kevin Smith, it’s the most marketable religious icon of all! Buddy Christ is a friend who is always willing to hear your problems, and now he’s also super-cuddly! This 8″ tall plush doll features finely stitched details, is made out of soft plush material, and will fit anywhere you want him to go, including your backpack. Wherever you go, he’s gonna go! Comes packaged in a clear polybag.

Sin City Movie Marv Resin Bust – SRP: $59.99
A Diamond Select Toys release! Sin City is no place for the soft or weak. Luckily, Marv is as hard as they come! We made this collectible 6″ bust of Marv out of high-quality resin, so he and his gun Gladys will blend into your bust collection, no matter how tough a crowd it is. Set into a rocky base, he’ll stand guard on your shelf. your desk or even the bar at Kadie’s Club Pecos! Sculpted by Jean St. Jean. Limited to 1,000 pieces. Comes packaged in a full-color box.

Earlier this week, via their facebook page, Kotobukiya debuted their Cyclops ArtFX+ statue. This is following on the popular (and awesome) Avengers ArtFX+ line, the X-Men are based on concept artwork by Adi Granov and sculpting by Junnosuke Abe. There’s no details on a release date, but stay tuned.

Are you excited about Kotobukiya expanding their ArtFX+ line to include Marvel’s merry mutants? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Our pals at Funko sent over images of their upcoming X-Men Pop! vinyl figures. They come in two batches, the first available this month is Deadpool in a blue and yellow X-Men uniform. The second set, due in November, is a very 90’s set of X-Men with Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Mystique and Magneto. All of this Jim Lee goodness is available now at your favorite shops. Entertainment Earth has the X-Men listed here and Deadpool here.

This week Diamond Select Toys is releasing multiple mutant Minimates. If you’re a comic fan or a movie fan, Diamond Select Toys has you covered as this week they’re releasing Minimates from both the latest X-Men movie Days of Future Past and sets from the comic All-New X-Men (which you should be reading). See below for details of the sets as well as some great pictures of them in action.

Marvel Minimates Series 58 X-Men: Days of Future Past Asst.
A Diamond Select Release! The most epic X-Men movie ever made is getting the Minimates treatment from DST! Four different two-packs depict the past and future worlds of X-Men: Days of Future Past, featuring Mystique with Young Magneto, Bone Claw Wolverine with Charles Xavier, Future Wolverine with Future Storm and Professor X with Future Magneto! Each Minimates mini-figure stands 2 inches tall with 14 points of articulation and features a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories, including an alternate head for Storm, alternate hair for Magneto and an alternate torso for Wolverine. Designed and Sculpted by Art Asylum!

Marvel Minimates Series 59 All-New X-Men Asst.
A Diamond Select Toys Release! The five original X-Men have been brought to the present day, and a new decade calls for new costumes! This assortment based on the Marvel Now! comic title All-New X-Men features four two-packs, including Cyclops with Marvel Girl, Beast with Angel, Iceman with a Sentinel and a rare, short-packed Bobby Drake with Sentinel! Each Minimate mini-figure stands approximately 2 inches tall and features a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories, including multiple alternate heads and hair pieces, energy blasts and flight stands! Designed by Art Asylum!

Each week Diamond Select Toys releases a cool batch of toys and collectibles to your favorite online and and real life comic and specialty shops. This is a big week for DST as they’ve got a ton of new products. Keep reading for the details!

Batman Classic TV Series Silicone Tray – Bang! Zok! Pow! Add some punch to your punchbowl with this silicone tray inspired by the Batman Classic TV Show! This bright green tray casts up ice, gelatin and chocolate in the shape of the iconic Batman logo, as well as the show’s famous sound effects. Unless you’re Mr. Freeze, freezing things has never been so fun! Comes packaged in a full-color box. (Item #APR141981, SRP: $15.00)

Marvel X-Men Symbol Silicone Tray – A Diamond Select Toys Release! You don’t need Iceman to chill your drinks for you any more! This silicone tray featuring the famous “X” logo is great for ice, gelatin and even chocolate, so you can cast up some refreshments for your next baseball game or extinction-level event! Comes packaged in full-color box. (Item #MAR141959, SRP: $15.00)

Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare Minimates Series 1 – A Diamond Select Toys Release! The brand-new PvZ console game is now the craziest set of Minimates mini-figures ever! Two zombies and four plants from Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare come together in this battle-ready six-pack, as the Cactus, Sunflower and two Pea Shooters take on the All-Star Zombie and Engineer Zombie. Each Zombie Minimate mini-figure is 2 inches tall with 14 points of articulation and features a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories. A Diamond Select Toys release. Designed by Art Asylum! (Item #MAR141938, SRP: $19.99)

Sin City Movie Minimates That Yellow Bastard Box Set – A Diamond Select Toys Release! The most dangerous city on Earth is now a far less dangerous line of Minimates mini-figures! The first assortment of black-and-white Minimates based on Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s hit movie Sin City includes four different mini-figures from “That Yellow Bastard”: Hartigan, Nancy, Senator Roark and the Yellow Bastard himself. Each 2-inch mini-figure features a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories. Designed and sculpted by Art Asylum! (Item #MAR141948, SRP: $19.99)

Monster Hunter Van Helsing Select Action Figure – A Diamond Select Toys Release! Monsters beware! Diamond Select Toys is unleashing a fearsome foe upon every monster action figure in your collection, and it’s none other than famous monster-hunter Van Helsing! Based on an original design, this 7-inch action figure comes armed to the teeth with stakes, axes and a crossbow, making him more than a match for any and all supernatural creatures. Van Helsing includes a deluxe cemetery base, featuring a female vampire rising from the grave, and comes packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork. Sculpted by Jean St. Jean! (Item #APR141978, SRP: $24.99)

Universal Monsters Select Son of Frankenstein Figure – A Diamond Select Toys Release! The monster returns! Diamond Select Toys revisits Frankenstein’s Monster with this all-new figure depicting the monster in his outfit from 1939’s Son of Frankenstein. This 7-inch-scale action figure features an all-new sculpt with all-new articulation, and can strike multiple poses on his deluxe display base, featuring equipment from Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. The Monster and his base come packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork. Sculpted by Jean St. Jean! (Item #APR141979, SRP: $24.99)

Universal Monsters Select Creature from the Black Lagoon Figure – A Diamond Select Toys Release! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water! Diamond Select Toys revisits the Black Lagoon with this all-new figure depicting the world-famous Creature, first seen in 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon. This 7-inch-scale action figure features a new sculpt with over 16 points of articulation, and can strike a wide variety of poses on his deluxe display base, which features a skeleton and an undersea rock formation. The Creature and his base come packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork. Sculpted by Jean St. Jean! (Item #APR141980, SRP: $24.99)

No one other than Professor Xavier has been able to control Cerebro…until now! Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will give you the power to control the world’s most powerful machine for mutants on the Comic-Con show floor!

Using the Oculus Rift development kit, fans will enter Cerebro to scour the show floor in order to find Mystique before it’s too late in a mesmerizing 3-minute, 360-degree virtual reality world. Each experience will be recorded via a mounted Go-Pro camera and the best reactions will be made available to share on social media platforms.

X-Men enthusiasts will also have the exclusive opportunity to pre-order the X-MEN: THE CEREBRO COLLECTION. Available only at Comic-Con, this limited edition collection of only 1,000 features X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: First Class on Blu-ray packaged in a replica of Professor X’s Cerebro helmet.

Fans who take part in the Cerebro Experience will also be able to collect one of four exclusive X-Men character posters. A new poster will be unveiled each day of the show and quantities are limited.

The X-MEN: THE CEREBRO COLLECTION and X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST are available for pre-order separately for $79.99 and $22.99 respectively, or together for $89.99. Product will be shipped to all those that pre-order at Comic-Con when it is officially released later this year.

Additionally fans will have the opportunity to download the state-of-the-art Cerebro app, the definitive source for all official X-Men movie news and the complete reference for mutants in the X-Men movies universe!

The Cerebro experience will be at booth #3528 on the exhibit hall floor.

Last week a mystery image popped up in an overseas toy magazine depicting a new wave of X-Men themed Marvel Legends figures featuring the “missing” Jubilee build-a-figure. Today it was announced that this wave, featuring Cyclops, Magneto, Wolverine, Storm, and Stryfe, would be a Toys R Us exclusive available this June. Our pals at Hasbro released images of both loose and boxed figures, which you can see below.

Fans of the 6″ Marvel Legends got a bit of a surprise today when IGN announced the news that an all new boxset based on the All-New X-Men will be hitting Toys R Us in the next few weeks. This set, based on the currently running Marvel comic where the original 5 X-Men were plucked out of the past so that past Cyclops could confront “now” Cyclops following his Phoenix-infused murder of Professor X. Got that?

Well, this box set (very reminiscent of the old 5″ Toy Biz boxset) includes Iceman, Angel, Beast, Jean Grey and Cyclops in their original blue and yellow uniforms. Exclusive to Toys R Us, this set will be popping up in the next few weeks and will retail for $84.99.

Another Wednesday, another great batch of toys coming from Diamond Select Toys. In fact, this week has an item I’ve personally been waiting for (and already ordered) since SDCC – a Dazzler minimate! Keep reading for all the items hitting a comic shop near you this week (which you can find at comicshoplocator.com)

Marvel Minimates Series 47: X-Men vs. Brood
Mutants and humanity have had their differences, but they have a mutual enemy: the Brood! This interstellar race of parasites has preyed on men and X-Men alike, and this wave of At Asylum-designed Marvel Minimates includes three all-new comic-based two-packs: Rogue with Colossus, Longshot with Dazzler, and Wolverine with a Brood, plus a rare, one-per-case variant where Wolverine has been infected by a Brood egg! Each Minimate stands 2 inches tall with 14 points of articulation and a variety of removable and interchangeable parts and accessories. The figures in this assortment will only be available in comic shops and specialty stores, so don’t miss out! Designed by Art Asylum!

Universal Monsters Select: Phantom of the Opera
The newest Universal Monsters figure from DST is from one of the oldest Universal Monsters films! From the 1923 version of Phantom of the Opera comes Lon Chaney as the Phantom, rendered by sculpting virtuoso Jean St. Jean! Standing 7 inches tall and fully articulated, the Phantom comes with a book of music and his organ accessory, and both the unmasked sculpt and the organ are exclusive to this version. It’s like a piece of movie history you can put on your shelf! The Phantom and his organ come in display-ready collector packaging, and are only available on the specialty market!

Universal Monsters Retro Cloth Action Figures Series 3
The best-selling retro cloth line makes its terrifying return! For their third year of re-creating the iconic Universal Monsters in the classic Mego style, DST introduces the Bride of Frankenstein, with real cloth gown and bandages, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, with a unique blend of sculpted and fabric parts! Designed and Sculpted by EMCE Toys, each figure stands 8″ tall with over 14 points of articulation and an authentically detailed full cloth outfit, and comes packaged in re-sealable clamshell packaging.

Walking Dead Minimates B&W Halloween ComicFest 2-Pack
The Walking Dead comic book has reached its landmark 100th issue, and Diamond Select Toys is celebrating with an exclusive black-and-white two-pack of Walking Dead Minimates! Winter Coat Dale and the Female Zombie come colored in shades of grey, in honor of the long-running black-and-white series, and will only be available through retailers participating in Halloween ComicFest. Each Minimate stands 2 inches tall with 14 points of articulation and a variety of removable and interchangeable parts and accessories.

A huge focus for Hasbro this year will be the ‘Avengers Assemble’ theme with the continuing Iron Man line, and new Captain America and Thor movie lines. This is in addition to the core Marvel Universe line and the Spider-man line. Below are highlights of the Hasbro presentation. Which, this was my favorite part of the Hasbro event, really enjoyed the material the team put together.

Thor merchandise shelf date of March 1st; Movie arriving May 6th

A whole wardrobe of Thor role-play toys will be available, including his helmet, which talks and shoots a small projectile

There’s a slew of Thor figures on the horizon, refer to the galleries for images

Super Hero Squad is continuing in the form of movie 3 packs for both Thor and Captain America

Captain America toys hitting shelves in May with the movie releasing July 22nd

Several role play shields being released, one shoots foam discs – like the old Millenium Falcon and Tie Fighter toys; another is a frisbee. Two of these were thrown into the crowd.

Several figures in the line up – Captain Britain, Movie-uniform Captain America, Battle Field Captain America, Winter Soldier, and US Agent (who looks awesome)

Captain America will have several vehicles, similar to the ones Iron Man has

Cyclops

Series: Marvel Universe; Secret Wars Comic 2-packsAvailability: 2009Comments: The second wave of the “Secret Wars” comic 2-packs for the Marvel Universe line are here. This time around, figures are packaged with issues 4, 7 and 8 of the 12 issue limited series. Cyclops was packaged with the Incredible Hulk and issue 4 of the series.

Cyclops is getting a fair amount of play in the 3 3/4″ scale already in the assorted Marvel lines. You have an Astonishing X-Men figure in the Wolverine: Origins line; an animated style Cyclops in the animated Wolverine line and you have this one in the comic 2-packs. Of the three available today, this one is my favorite. Unlike some Marvel Universe figures, Cyclops feels sturdy; but he’s not so bulky that it doesn’t still seem like Scott ‘Slim’ Summers. The sculpt is minimal; his belt is painted one – but it works. I think I could have done with less blackwash, but it does accentuate the sculpted musculature; however I’m concerned about how this figure will stand out on a shelf of other figures lacking this approach. My criticisms are pretty minor though, and this Cyclops is a fantastic addition to the line; just with there was a classic Marvel Girl to go along with him.